Download Letter English | Spanish | Vietnamese
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
On this Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, we inaugurate the National Eucharistic Revival called for by bishops of the United States. This will be a three-year process so that we might appreciate more deeply the great gift that Jesus left us in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
The Church tells us that the Eucharist is the “Source and summit of our faith:” that is, our journey of faith leads us to the Eucharist; and our faith is strengthened by, and flows from, the celebration of the Eucharist!
When Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples at the Last Supper, he said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” The Church has been doing “this” in remembrance of Jesus for 2000 years! When the Church celebrates the Eucharist in memory of Jesus, not only do we enter into the Paschal Mystery of Jesus’ loving and redemptive death and resurrection, but the bread and wine are truly transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ! What a tremendous mystery and blessing: to have Jesus truly present with us, in the form of bread and wine, to nourish us, love us, and lead us!
There are many other beautiful elements of the Eucharist that we will explore during this three-year process of learning about, more deeply appreciating, and joyfully and reverently celebrating the Eucharist. There will be diocesan and parish elements to this Eucharistic Revival, as well as regional and national celebrations.
I ask you to pray, as I will do, that the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and minds to truly bring us to appreciate this great gift of Jesus to his Church and to the world. During the first year of this process, the Revival will be woven into our Diocesan Synod process. More information will come out on both our Diocesan Synod and the Eucharistic Revival in the coming months.
May the Holy Spirit lead us to Jesus, and Jesus to the Father!
Yours in Christ,
Most Rev. Oscar Cantú